Conventional tools for cleaning floors range from a mop and bucket to pressure washers to automatic scrubbers. With the mop and bucket, solution is added to the bucket and then a mop made out of absorbent material is used to suck up the solution and then apply it to the floor. The mop is then used as the abrasive tool to break dirt loose from the floor. The dirt from the floor collects in the mop which is then submersed in the solution in the bucket. Dirt is rinsed from the mop by repeated dunking and wringing (usually with a mop wringer).
This process is sub-optimal for a number of reasons. First, dirt from the floor is returned to the bucket causing the solution to become dirtier and dirtier such that an area cleaned towards the end of the process is never as clean as the first area cleaned. Some mop buckets exist today that have a solution tank and a rinse tank which helps to keep the solution clean for a longer period of time, but dirt is still carried into the solution tank by the mop.
Secondly, absorbent mops required to lift solution out of the bucket and onto the floor do not make very good scrubbers. Ideally, an abrasive pad or bristle brush is used to break dirt free, but they do not absorb water and cannot be used to get the water from the bucket to the floor or dirty water from the floor back to the bucket. Sponge and abrasive pad combinations that accomplish both tasks are common for cleaning in a domestic setting, but are rarely used in commercial environments since floor coverage is too great and capacity to hold dirt is insufficient.
Pressure washers utilizing high-pressure pumps rely on the high-pressure discharge of cleaning solution as a means to break dirt free. Pressure washers are available with vacuum capability to recover the solution and the dirt as it is sprayed. These systems use a significant amount of water and are expensive and more difficult to use and maintain than the floor cleaning tool of the present invention.
With automatic scrubbers, solution is dispensed to the floor, scrub pads or brushes driven by motors break the dirt free, and a vacuum and squeegee return the dirty solution to a separate tank leaving the solution clean from start to finish. However, like pressure washers, automatic scrubbers are significantly more expensive and more difficult to operate and maintain. Additionally, automatic scrubbers are hard to maneuver in tight places and are incapable of cleaning under low profile objects (shelves, tables, chairs, etc.). Some automatic scrubbers have wand accessories with or without powered brushes for reaching in these tight spots, but these generally suffer from sub-optimal performance as automatic scrubbers are designed to clean large, unobstructed areas.
Both pressure washers and automatic scrubbers typically include electrically powered pumps or vacuums for dispensing water and/or cleaning solution and for collecting dirty water and/or cleaning solution. Such electrically operated pumps and vacuums increase the cost of these machines. Further, these machines require an electrical power source, which increases the machines' operating cost while limiting the machines' field of use (i.e. near an electrical outlet) or duration of use (i.e. until the battery is fully discharged).